Intermittent fasting - mornings

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Forum -> Health & Wellness -> Healthy Lifestyle/ Weight Loss/ Exercise

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amother

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 11:29 am

My husband has been trying to do intermittent fasting.
He's been doing 12-8 due to his work/life schedule that works best.

The mornings are brutal. He tried drinking black coffee. He saw a trick to put a dash if salt in and it takes away from the bitterness. doesn't help much.

He drinks sugar free coffee with a drop of milk.

Does anyone know if that milk in his coffee will kill all the progress?
I don't know if it's sustainable for him.

Also, what do you guess who do intermittent fasting do on shabbos?

amother

Stone

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 11:31 am

I learned that having a tablespoon of oat milk is OK but you should check whichever plan you’re following.

amother

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 11:37 am

amother Stone wrote:

I learned that having a tablespoon of oat milk is OK but you should check whichever plan you’re following.

Thanks. But he needs regular milk.
He has a limited diet do to being very picky. He doesn't eat that much but he used to eat at very bad timings. So he's not following any specific plans but sticking to those hours. He's been consistently gaining around 10 lbs a year for years now. And again he doesn't eat too much. He used to eat terrible foods lots of fried and processed foods. No veggies.
For the last few years he's been eating more veggies cooked and a bit of raw salad. Rarely any fried foods, very little processed foods. But it wasn't helping much. He was "only" gaining around 5 lbs vs 10 a year.
He also felt sluggish and exhausted often.
He's already feeling better because he's letting his digestive system rest for many more hours than he used to.

But the morning coffee is a big problem.

amother

Thistle

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 11:41 am

So I do intermittent fasting with keto and calorie restrictions. My morning allowance is one cup of water, followed by a cup of coffee with a little sugar and milk. That's at about 7am. By 8am, I may need one more cup of coffee. If so, I make it the same. Lunch is at noon (usually meat / eggs whites and veggies). Dinner is at 4 (same as lunch, either meat and veggies or egg whites.) I drink water throughout the day and work out from 5-5.45 daily. No snacks or other things allowed. I lost 30 lbs so far (and have kept it off for the last year) and am working on the next 30. Not quite the same as your husband but that's my diet and I allow a drop of sugar and milk in for morning coffee. Otherwise, I'm super strict.

amother

Babypink

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 11:51 am

amother Thistle wrote:

This doesn't sound sustainable at all.

amother

Ecru

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 11:55 am

Does he like half and half in his coffee?

It’s more fat and less carbs. So it’s a better option when fasting. And it tastes so much better than regular milk. Have him try it.

I have half and half when fasting and it doesn’t raise my blood sugar. I had a continuous glucose monitor that showed no spike.

I do like 3 splashes. And it’s yum.

amother

Thistle

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 12:10 pm

amother Babypink wrote:

This doesn't sound sustainable at all.

But yet, for me it is. I've been on since December of 2022. Weight is slow to come off but I feel better on it than not. After 2 weeks on, my stomach regulates and if I deviate, it causes gut issues. To each, his own. It works for me.

amother

Jetblack

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 1:54 pm

I do intermittent fasting and also need my coffee in the mornings. I really don’t like black coffee so it’s a push for me to get to 10 am when I can add creamer. One thing that helped me big time is upgrading my coffee machine to a nespresso which brews excellent coffee - really doesn’t need creamer or milk to taste delicious.

amother

Clover

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 1:57 pm

IF works for me and I officially don’t count coffee with milk as breaking it. I drink in the morning and afternoon, before and after my eating window with just as good results. The bit of milk shouldn’t make a difference.

Tzivia18

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 1:57 pm

A splash of heavy cream can be a good option as it’s high in fat and lower in sugar than other milks so can keep your blood sugar stable, and keep you in fasting mode.

cla

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 2:20 pm

Stevie and a tablespoon of he heavy cream

amother

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 2:57 pm

He never puts sugar in his coffee. He doesn't like it. He usually does, water, Instant coffee and milk. 20 oz coffee mug that has 16 oz water and 3 oz milk approx he sips through the morning. (It's on a polar Camel mug and it magically stays hot enough.)

So you say he should rather try an oz of have cream instead?
His goal isn't anything crazy but he'd like to loose a minimum of 30 lbs over the next year or so. That's 2.5 lbs a month. I think that's very reasonable.
Then when he's done losing weight go back to eating 10 hours. And no food for 14.
Whereas till now he basically ate (coffee usually) from waking up until shortly before bed. So that was 16+ hours on average. Which is bad. He ate little things but his digestive system never had a rest.

Why is heavy cream better than milk?

amother

Aquamarine

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 3:11 pm

The goal of IF is to avoid a rise in insulin for a sustainable enough amount of time to become fat adapted, at which point fasting doesn't just become easier, it can feel great.

so far the research points to carbs, & protein, creating a rise in insulin, which is why if someone adds something to their coffee with regards to this, it's heavy cream, just fat.

Not everyone "holds" this way though, & feel only black is the way to go. For instance Gin Stephens is a good resource for "clean fasting" if you want to learn about strictly going through the process. She's black & white about it & goes into detail.

Dave Asprey actually promotes, as a tool or crutch, fasting with his recipe for "bullet proof coffee", coffee with fat added (like butter & collagen).

Btw, many people who go through this process, do end up liking black coffee, it seems to take time, it's an acquired taste, but then it kind of sticks. It happened to me, I never dreamt that I'd like it, but now do (good coffee though, not instant, it helps to find the right one. Lol, you end up becoming a coffee snob in the process. And even when I'm not doing IF (women need to pay more attention to age, fertility life stages, we have more variables to take into consideration, nevertheless) I now prefer black coffee first think in the a.m. (and might add thing like milk, sweeteners to a 2nd cup).

Dr. Jason Fung is also a good resource, and his "Diet Dr" team, all of the above mentioned have books & podcasts.

amother

Kiwi

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 3:21 pm

I can drink iced coffee black, but not hot.

amother

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 3:37 pm

amother Aquamarine wrote:

Thank you for this informative post. And then you all previous posters. You have been very helpful and it's greatly appreciated.

I honestly do not have time to immerse myself in this. We've bh got too many things going on in life to research and find out.
But his weight and overall healthy is becoming more and more a concern. He's hitting 275 and although he's 6' he's not feeling good and his cholesterol was high at the last well visit.
That's why he figured this would be the most sustainable.
He eats a lot of carbs and crashes after wheat specifically so we try WW and spelt (both are 100% better) but other than that, changes in eating habits aren't sustainable at this point (he's tried. I've been as supportive as possible but it never heald including working with a nutritionist.)

He has been able to stick with it for the last 5 days bh. Hopefully in for the long haul.
And I'm sort of joining him. (Other than my sweet coffee with milk. Lol!) I'd love to loose 26-30 lbs myself total. But I only got a few months before I discontinue BC.... He wants to start with 30 lbs then loose more over time iyh.

amother

Wheat

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 3:51 pm

I see the mention of fertility and IF mentioned

Can anyone please explain?

honeymoon

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 4:03 pm

While it's not ideal, if it's the only way he can maintain this lifestyle then it's 100% better than giving it up completely.

I like my morning coffee black but I find that very hot black coffee is too bitter for me. I let it cool to slightly hot and it tastes pretty good.

amother

Babypink

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 5:21 pm

amother Wheat wrote:

I see the mention of fertility and IF mentioned

Can anyone please explain?

If here stands for interment fasting.

amother

Aquamarine

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 7:04 pm

amother Wheat wrote:

I see the mention of fertility and IF mentioned

Can anyone please explain?

Can take with a grain of salt as I'm not a professional, just have learned a lot from abovementioned resources

My understanding is that if someone has insulin resistance issues, pre-diabetes or pcos, IF can help very much for overall wellness, longevity, & fertility (not making a panacea claim, just to boost health & remove some elements of obstacle which insulin resistant can create).

However, if someone is actively trying to conceive, or is pregnant, then IF is to the best of my understanding not advised. (The only caveat, is maybe very mild "intermittent fasting", in quotes, because I'm referring to let's say 12 hours. ie not eating after 8pm, until let's say 8 am, 10 o'clock snacking & bf at 7 etc. This is fine too, just mentioning that research has shown a benefit in giving the body 12 hours of this digestive rest, a break between last meal & supper (along with a healthy lifestyle).

amother

Aquamarine

Sun, Jan 28 2024, 7:15 pm

amother OP wrote:

Very understandable

Would he read or listen to audio books?

On one foot, a common mistake I hear from educators is not giving the body enough time to switch into becoming "fat adapted". It's common to be hard in the beginning, but then the body acclimates by using up its glucose storage & beginning to use fat as fuel. It can take a few weeks I think.
Some quick Tips:

- fast "clean" & stick to fat if needed as a crutch in coffee. "Breaking" fasts can just make it harder.

- add salt (not too much, but not too little) as discomfort can come from electrolyte imbalance if fasting on the longer side, 16 or more perhaps esp if gettinginto 20 hpurs plus, salt can really help, especially if working out while fasting, & especially if diet is low in processed foods & therefore lower in salt than a highly processed diet.

- Eat enough in eating window, careful not to calorie restrict or else, like dieting, it tends to back fire & hunger hormones go up

- Consider exercising in fasted state. If someone learns how to do this right & in a healthy way, it's a boost. Again, this is if someone is fat adapted, therefore it's like they're not fasting, rather they are fueling on their own body fat. But otherwise, exercise even in eating window, will help the process along, as building muscle helps to become more insulin sensitive, a similar benefit of IF (when done properly.)

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